Browse
Browse
Educate
My Account

SEARCH RESULTS

Search for: Entrepreneurship
Found: 92 Products
 Show:    Sort: 
Cases
Strategies for Sustainable Development Course
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Course  Publication Date: 06/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-257  Length: 524pages
The Strategies for Sustainable Development course is comprised of seven teaching modules that prepare the student to address the most critical issues at the intersection of business and sustainability. Together they address several facets of the competitive aspects of the corporate response to sustainability.
Strategies for Sustainable Development—Module 4
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 06/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-264  Length: 108pages
This is the fourth of seven modules in the Strategies for Sustainable Development Course. In module 4, students identify the benefits and risks associated with bringing sustainability strategies to the Base-of-the-Pyramid (BoP), the billions of people who live on less than $3,000 per year in the informal economy of the developing world, and explore the challenges and constraints fa...
Strategies for Sustainable Development—Module 5
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 06/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-265  Length: 52pages
This is the fifth of seven modules in the Strategies for Sustainable Development Course. Module 5 explores sustainability as a market strategy for new entrants and companies that seek to develop “hybrid” business models that merge for-profit and non-profit strategies. This new organizational type is alternatively called the Fourth Sector, social enterprises, for-benefit, or B corpo...
Strategies for Sustainable Development—Module 6
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 06/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-266  Length: 80pages
This is the sixth of seven modules in the Strategies for Sustainable Development Course. In Module 6, we highlight the ways in which traditional for-profit companies can also develop new kinds of business strategies to capture a piece of the growing sustainability market. Students explore the impact that sustainability has on seemingly established sectors such as automobiles, home...
Strategies for Sustainable Development—Module 7
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 06/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-267  Length: 82pages
This is the seventh module of the Strategies for Sustainable Development Course. In this last of seven modules, students explore sustainability from the view of the all-important venture capital field. Investors are focused on “green” technology in the hopes of finding the next breakthrough that will alter markets, particularly in the energy field. Students will analyze the market...
Zingerman's (A)
by Wayne Baker
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2013  Product ID#: 1-428-861  Length: 30pages
Over the years, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) has regularly won accolades and awards – including being named “the coolest small company in America” by Inc. in 2003 - for its food, service, mail order catalog, training, and overall success. This case shows how Zingerman’s went from a single delicatessen in 1982 to nine unique but complementary companies with combined revenues of $45 million in 2012.
Social Entrepreneurship Module
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 05/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-341  Length: 82pages
This module uses a series of six cases surrounding three examples of social entrepreneurship in very different organizations: Fundación Paraguaya (FP), Kinder, Lyndenberg, and Domini (KLD), and Community Enterprise Solutions (CE Solutions). The cases consider both the organizations and the entrepreneurs who run them. Students can examine the organizational challenges of making it work, donor demands for accountability and measurement, and the personal views and philosophies of the founding entrepreneur.
Community Enterprise Solutions
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-331  Length: 16pages
The “Community Enterprise Solutions: Replicating the Microconsignment Model” case describes the founding and growth of Community Enterprise Solutions (CE Solutions), an NGO working at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) in Guatemala. The case opens with background information and some history on the founder, Greg Van Kirk. Van Kirk’s experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala allowed him to identify several opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses designed to employ local workers, attract more touri
ayzh at a Crossroad
by Asad Aziz, Yolanda Sarason, Grace Hanley
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-329  Length: 16pages
The case examines challenges presented by potential global expansion for the ayzh, a for-profit social venture that provides maternal health products as well as job creation opportunities for impoverished women in India. This case challenges students to think about the implications of global expansion on the mission and business models of social enterprises.
Mushrooms as a Viable Product for Poverty Alleviation in Tanzania
by Geoffrey R. Archer, Sarah Proctor, Jennifer Vagg
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-333  Length: 16pages
This case focuses on mechanisms for alleviating poverty and addressing food security issues through small scale farming in Tanzania. Simon Mkao, the protagonist, needs to choose a business model for expanding his small-scale mushroom farming operations (the Mwika Mushroom Group) as he drafts a proposal for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The case challenges students to examine different business models and assess the challenges confronted by millions of small-scale farmers worldwide.
BTPN: Banking for the Bottom of the Pyramid in Indonesia
by R. Ryan Nelson, Carl P. Zeithaml, Gardner Bell
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-330  Length: 20pages
BTPN is a mid-size bank in Indonesia with a successful business model that also creates positive social change (following its mission to “Do Good and Do Well”). The Bank’s president, Jerry Ng, is faced with the dilemma of how to grow the business; i.e.., whether or not BTPN should expand its micro-lending to include the productive poor in the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). The decision should be based on a comprehensive understanding of BTPN’s environment, business model, strategy, and systems; while consider
Hydraid: Safe Water for the Base of the Pyramid
by Paul Mudde
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-332  Length: 24pages
Triple Quest, a joint venture between a manufacturer and a private investment company, is experimenting with different business models to distribute its proprietary Hydraid water filtration system. This case discusses the worldwide water crisis and the organizations involved in addressing it.
Sproxil: Saving Lives
by Dr. Prashant Yadav
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-324  Length: 16pages
As he read the media reports on Sproxil’s successful completion of the first phase of the company’s work in Nigeria, Ashifi Gogo wondered if such successes would be one of very many for Sproxil or if it was one of a kind. Sproxil now had a proven technology in place and Gogo had identified the regions he would like to enter with his technology. But he was still reviewing data on national markets to determine which markets to enter, as well as the right business model to use: a pure for-profit model or a so
A123 Systems Powering a Sustainable Future
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-302  Length: 24pages
A123 successfully went to market with new technologies that could revolutionize the energy storage and electric battery industries. It drew critical acclaim from the US President and Secretary of Energy, the automotive industry, environmental and scientific communities, and Wall Street. After opening the largest hybrid vehicle battery manufacturing facility in North America, CEO David Vieau needs to evaluate the road forward.
Honey Care’s New Business Model and Side-Selling Issue (Videos)
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 02/2013  Product ID#: 1-429-320  Length: 0pages
Click on the preview PDF at the right to view the video. Ted London of the William Davidson Institute speaks with Madison Ayer, CEO of Honey Care Africa.
Business Model Innovation at TutorVista
by C.K. Prahalad, M.S. Krishnan
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 12/2012  Product ID#: 1-428-916  Length: 24pages
Krishnan Ganesh tries to find the right business model to connect students in the US to remote tutors in India. A former BOP company owner, Ganesh finds ways to overcome language barriers as well as many of the preconceived notions US consumers have about outsourcing.
Genesis BioSystems
by Tom Porter
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-144  Length: 12pages
Genesis BioSystems is a venture-backed start-up that has developed a potentially revolutionary alternative to in-vitro fertilization. Before bringing the product to market, Genesis must achieve several key milestones, including the FDA’s approval. The product’s most recent tests were disappointing, but perhaps human embryos will produce a better study than mouse embryos. The decisi...
Base-of-the-Pyramid Module
by Ted London
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 03/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-223  Length: 124pages
The Base-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) refers to the billions of people who live on less than $3,000 per year in the informal economy of the developing world. This poverty creates an urgent societal need and presents a vast potential opportunity for business growth. Intelligent, informed management can address both aspects successfully. This module delivers effective teaching of management...
Movirtu's Cloud Phone Service
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 01/2012  Product ID#: 1-429-162  Length: 18pages
Who are the right investors for a for-profit company targeting the world's poor? Before this start-up spends hundreds of hours pursuing venture capital (VC), Movirtu must decide whether a profit-oriented VC investment will fit its vision for both growth and social impact. Movirtu’s "Cloud Phone" software is designed for the nearly one billion people who cannot afford mobile phones...
Martin Burt
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-214  Length: 14pages
This case provides students with an in-depth interview with Martin Burt, social entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Fundacion Paraguaya. The case should be used in conjunction with the Fundacion Paraguaya case series. The case makes a great follow-on discussion to Fundacion Paraguaya (A): The San Francisco School or a conclusion to the three case series. This case makes an excellent...
Fundación Paraguaya (A)
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-216  Length: 18pages
This case focuses on Fundacion Paraguaya, a microfinance institution in Paraguay that helps primary and secondary schools become financially self-sufficient. Its most recent acquisition - an agricultural high school in Paraguay - was almost insolvent when Fundacion Paraguaya came to its aid. After helping the school become financially self-sufficient, Martin Burt, CEO of Fundacion...
Fundación Paraguaya (B)
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-217  Length: 8pages
This case accompanies the Fundacion Paraguaya (A) case. Martin Burt, CEO of Fundacion Paraguay, has helped another school become financially self-sufficient using the same business model he applied to the San Francisco High School (see case A), but has found that replicating his success requires more financial capital than he had initially thought. Since banks are hesitant to lend...
Fundación Paraguaya (C)
by Paul Godfrey
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-218  Length: 4pages
This case outlines four problems with the Social Return on Capital (SROI) metric, which quantifies the social impact of programs like Fundacion Paraguaya. How do you accurately quantify the impact of infant nutrition programs? This case accompanies the Fundacion Paraguaya (A) and (B) cases.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 4 (Slide Decks)
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-210  Length: 104pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 4th and final module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Launching and Managing a Startup Enterprise.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 2 (Spreadsheet)
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-211  Length: 2pages
This Excel spreadsheet was designed for the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course. It contains a 5-year financial projection of a hypothetical company. Students can use this spreadsheet to value a company's cash flow over time.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 4 (Spreadsheet)
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-212  Length: 2pages
This Excel spreadsheet was designed for the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course. The spreadsheet illustrates the Venture Quotient for a hypothetical company. Students can use this spreadsheet to comprehend the Venture Quotient tool for analyzing projected company risk.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 1 (Slide Decks)
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-207  Length: 134pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 1st module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Evaluating Entrepreneurial Career Options and Startup Opportunities.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 2 (Slide Decks)
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-208  Length: 45pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 2nd module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Understanding Startup Finances and Capital Requirements.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 3 (Slide Decks)
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 11/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-209  Length: 60pages
This PowerPoint slide deck PDF was designed for the 3rd module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course titled Developing and Presenting Your Startup Business Plan.
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 1
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-195  Length: 88pages
This is the first of four modules in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This module provides an overview of entrepreneurship, explains how startups work, and provides career guidance for students who are interested in an entrepreneurial career. This module can be used with modules 2 through 4...
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 2
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-196  Length: 36pages
This is the second of four modules in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This module focuses on the financial aspect of planning, launching, and growing a new business. This module can be used with modules 1, 3, and 4. Excel spreadsheet 2C is included in this module. "The Entrepreneur's Dicti...
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 3
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-197  Length: 44pages
This is the third of four modules in the New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. The goal of this module is to introduce students to the elements of a strong business plan including the executive summary, the venture presentation, and the elevator pitch. This module focuses on the challenges associated with developing,...
Entrepreneurship: NVC—Module 4
by James D. Price
Product Type: Module  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-198  Length: 32pages
This is the fourth and final module in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation course that was developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This module provides continues to deliver practical guidance to help students launch their new ventures conceived at the beginning of the course in Module 1. This module can be used with modules 1through 3. Excel spread...
Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course
by James D. Price
Product Type: Course  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-199  Length: 200pages
This course is a practical guide to starting a new business. From the initial business idea to the launch, students are introduced to the realities of entrepreneurship and the misconceptions surrounding it. The course includes useful models, frameworks, practical advice, and guidelines that provide students with a solid foundation to launch their own businesses while understanding...
Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course Overview
by James D. Price
Product Type: Teaching Tool  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-213  Length: 10pages
This course is a practical guide to starting a new business. From the initial business idea to the launch, students are introduced to the realities of entrepreneurship and the misconceptions surrounding it. The course includes useful models, frameworks, practical advice, and guidelines that provide students with a solid foundation to launch their own businesses while understanding...
Entrepreneur's Dictionary
by James D. Price
Product Type: Reference  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-194  Length: 52pages
This dictionary provides comprehensive definitions for over 450 business terms. It was designed to be used in the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course and for people interested in starting their own business.
The Launch Lens
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 10/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-186  Length: 8pages
This note provides a framework for evaluating new business concepts. It is part of the Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation Course.
Equilibrium Capital Group
by Tom Lyon
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-106  Length: 48pages
Venture capitalists Bill Campbell and Kipp Baratoff have a decision to make. They can either invest their hard-earned capital in one of two existing energy efficiency (EE) companies or create their own company that tackles EE market barriers in a novel way. Bill and Kipp must understand how EE companies operate and discover the nuances of the EE market to make their joint decision.
Village Capital
by Peter Roberts, Carol Gee, Ross Baird
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-171  Length: 15pages
First Place Winner of the NextBillion 2011 Case Writing Competition Bob Pattillo is the founder of a firm that invests in for-profit companies that also seek social and environmental impact, but it has been difficult for Pattillo to find start-up social enterprises. So, Pattillo developed Village Capital, an innovative investment strategy that uses peer support cohorts of entrepren...
Seed-Stage Financing Exercise
by Tom Porter
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 03/2011  Product ID#: 1-429-165  Length: 8pages
The founders of start-up biotech company Chiral Intermediates have an important decision to make. How much money to raise? When? And from what kinds of funding sources? This exercise walks through the market for chiral intermediates (a material that reduces harmful drug side effects), this new company's business model, and its quest for seed-stage financing.
Zipcar, Inc.
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-159  Length: 9pages
Though Zipcar's cost-effect approach to car ownership is known for being a great “best new idea” story, this cases asks how CEO Scott Griffin can turn Zipcar from “best” and “new” into “profitable”? This case is included in Module 2 of the course Business Thought & Action.
Sensing Opportunities
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-008  Length: 4pages
The majority of new product ideas never make it to market. This note is a concise description of what separates the winners from the losers. In other words, what are the characteristics of good opportunities for successful new products or services? This note is an ideal tool for introducing research and insights about product success rates. This case can be taught in conjunction wi...
Value Proposition and Business Models
by Robert J. Dolan
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-009  Length: 7pages
This note introduces students to what a Value Proposition is. It walks students through identifying a company's "VPC story" (Value to the customer, Price the product is sold at, Cost to provide the product) which, in essence, is developing a business model. It also introduces the Johnson, Christensen, and Kagerman model for articulating a business plan, and provides students with a...
Ford Motor Company in the 1920s
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-003  Length: 4pages
This mini-case provides a concise description of Ford's early history, highlighting milestones like the debut of the Model T, the use of labor specialization, the first moving assembly line, the famous "$5 a day" plan for employee motivation, etc. The mini-case focuses on the challenges that Henry Ford faced (timing production activities, industrial shortages, price increases, etc.
SMART: Global Urban Mobility Solutions
by Nigel Melville
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-964  Length: 27pages
SMART works to develop more efficient, environmentally and socially sustainable transportation systems in cities around the world. Its key approach is the Integrated Hub Network - a network that accesses several transportation modes in one place, while utilizing real-time transportation updates and information kiosks. Students help director Sue Zielinski pitch the Los Angeles proje...
Casas Bahia
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-148  Length: 24pages
In fifty years, Casas Bahia has grown from one man selling blankets and bed linens door-to-door to the largest retail chain in Brazil, offering electronics, appliances, and furniture. With its emphasis on serving the poor customer, its low prices, and credit determined by payment history rather than formal income (70% of CB customers have no formal or consistent income), Casas Bahi...
eChoupal - ITC, Ltd.
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-150  Length: 33pages
In setting up rural farmer-entrepreneurs with Internet access, and using modern technology to accurately weigh farmers crops (and paying them promptly), ITC's eChoupal system is transforming India's agricultural supply chain, reducing systemic corruption and giving farmers both better prices for their crops and a sense of dignity and confidence in being connected to the rest of the...
EID Parry
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-152  Length: 9pages
EID Parry provides local entrepeneurs the technological backing to run Internet kiosks in rural villages. EID Parry has also created its own Internet portal to support farmers with access to fertilizers and tools, education and crop disease diagnosis, and a direct market for their crops of rice and sugarcane.
E+Co & Tecnosol
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-153  Length: 37pages
By providing growth capital to local entrepreneurs, E+Co helps deliver alternative energy solutions to people around the world. In Nicaragua, where nearly fifty percent of the population is "off the grid," E+Co's investment in solar energy provider Tecnosol means people can have refrigeration, lights, running water, and jobs. The Nicaraguan government welcomes this effort, as scarc...
ICICI Bank
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-154  Length: 25pages
As the second-largest bank in India, ICICI Bank has led multiple initiatives to provide banking services at an affordable costs to the poor. ICICI has partnered with others to co-locate ATMs with rural Internet kiosks, and explore SmartCard technology to provide secure, low-cost transactions and loan management. More importantly, ICICI Bank has created a network of eight thousand S...
Selling Health
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-156  Length: 27pages
Around the world, 2.2 million people die from diarrheal disease every year. Children are especially at risk - one child dies every 30 seconds. India alone contributes thirty percent of the world's diarrheal deaths. By teaching and demonstrating the benefits of handwashing through both UN and branded programs that reach into the villages, Hindustan Lever Ltd. is reducing infectious...
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (English):Lumberyard
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-071  Length: 10pages
This case was written about an alumnus of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was written to be used for a cohort of the same program. See Kinyarwanda version if needed. This case describes Anastasie Nyirabukeye’s timber and woodwork business and chronicles her...
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (Kinyarwanda): Banana Wine
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-138  Length: 12pages
This is the Kinyarwanda-language version of the case was written for a class in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was taught in classes consisting of about 30 women entrepreneurs each in Kigali, Rwanda, and it described the banana wine business of Christine M...
Inventory Gremlins
by Greg Miller
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-105  Length: 6pages
Can you practice basic accounting principles through an interesting story? This case presents a budding entrepreneur, Amanda Gojko, who has started her own small business and needs to take physical inventory of her stock. Using LIFO and FIFO calculations, accounting students will learn about basic accounting principles as well as when and how to do compete write-downs.
The Emancipation Network
by Nathalie Laidler-Kylander
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-096  Length: 30pages
This case is featured as part of the Next Billion/WDI 2010 Case Writing Competition. In 2005, Sarah Symons and John Berger founded The Emancipation Network (T.E.N. Charities) to combat slavery and human trafficking. Though T.E.N accepted donations, the majority of its revenue came from Made By Survivors L.L.C, its wholly-owned subsidiary, which purchased handicrafts made by survivors and resold them in the U.S.
Zingerman's Community of Businesses (VIDEO)
by Wayne Baker, CPOS, Ryan Smerek
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 07/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-104  Length: 0minutes
The Zingerman's Community of Businesses video is not to me missed. It complements the Zingerman's Community of Businesses case and features Zingerman's co-founder Ari Weinzweig discussing four key components of Zingerman's success. Over the years, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) has regularly won accolades and awards – including being named “the coolest small company in...
In Search of Proof
by Elayid Raed
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-069  Length: 8pages
The case is about Anup Noori's efforts to expand on the Microfinance model into one that targets structural poverty (i.e. asset poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to medication and water). In doing so, he travels to Sri Lanka, where he hears about Hatton National Bank (HNB), a traditional commercial bank that has poverty alleviation as part of its operations. HNB helps the communi...
Better Place: Charging Into the Future
by Andrew Hoffman, Arie Jongejan
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 05/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-946  Length: 26pages
With partnerships and developments in nations across the globe, Better Place seemed poised to succeed in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. Yet Better Place’s proposition relied on a revolutionary shift in the automobile industry. Would the company witness the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the near future, or would competing technologies, environmental regulation...
Molten Metal Techonology (A)
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-049  Length: 24pages
This case describes Molten Metal Technology's beginnings and its new technologies, the impact of regulation on its business, environmental implications, the waste cleanup and disposal industry, and Molten Metal Technology's possibilities for future expansion amidst competition.
Molten Metal Techonology (B)
by Andrew Hoffman
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-051  Length: 8pages
This case, the second in a series, describes Molten Metal Technology's problems that culminated in the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, including interactions between government, environmental concerns, and business.
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda (English): Banana Wine
by Etienne Musonera
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 03/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-070  Length: 12pages
This case was written for a class in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, which aims to bring high-quality business and management education to 10,000 underserved women around the world. It was taught in classes consisting of about 30 women entrepreneurs each in Kigali, Rwanda, and it described the banana wine business of Christine Murebwayire, an alumnus of the program. See...
Innocentive
by Scott A. Moore
Product Type: Profile  Publication Date: 02/2010  Product ID#: 1-429-036  Length: 6pages
This is a concise profile of InnoCentive—the company that created the first online marketplace for corporate research and development (R&D). It can be used to highlight how advancements in IT have spurred changes in the ways that companies perform R&D. This profile reviews the basic structure of InnoCentive’s “Open Innovation Marketplace”, who the players are in the marketplace, an...
The Secrets of Entrepreneurial Success
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 01/2010  Product ID#: 1-428-969  Length: 11pages
Entrepreneurship is an increasingly popular career path – for young adults just starting out, for mid-career professionals, for baby boomers who may have taken early retirement or been downsized from their careers in large organizations, and as well as for parents who may be reentering the workforce. In all of these cases, individuals contemplating an entrepreneurial career path te...
Applying Design Thinking
by Moses Lee
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 12/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-831  Length: 7pages
Today, most innovative and high-impact social ventures operating at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) are applying the principles of design thinking to better develop and deliver their solutions. The concept of design thinking involves immersing oneself into communities to better understand the habits and lifestyles of the people and iterating on ideas and solutions to get the...
Creative Calligraphy Invitations
by Izak Duenyas
Product Type: Exercise  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-837  Length: 4pages
You and your roommate are launching a calligraphy business out of your two-bedroom apartment. Will this business be profitable? That is the question students evaluate with “Creative Calligraphy Invitations (CCI).” CCI creates one-of-a-kind handwritten invitations, which are in high demand for weddings, holidays, parties, and corporate functions. Calligraphy requires special talent,...
Handy Lab, Lab-on-a-Chip
by Thomas C. Kinnear
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-929  Length: 24pages
...
Nanocerox
by Thomas C. Kinnear
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-884  Length: 16pages
Nanocerox is a start-up company based in Ann Arbor, MI, that provides nanopowder based research and development solutions for corporate customers. Powders are used in everyday items such as ceramic plates, cell phone covers, and metal coatings. Nanopowders, which are smaller powders made from increasingly pure elements, have a whole host of new, high-technology applications, ranging from microelectronics, to prosthetics, to more durable defense equipment
Rainforest Expeditions
by Gautam Kaul, Kate Elliott
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 10/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-799  Length: 16pages
2004 marked the 15th anniversary of the founding of the ecotourism company Rainforest Expeditions (RFE). A decade and a half of experience led the company’s cofounders, Eduardo Nycander and Kurt Holle, to gain international exposure and praise for their environmentally and socially responsible business practices in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Most notable among their socially...
How Much Money a Startup Needs
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 08/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-874  Length: 11pages
This note introduces students to the concept of capitalization tables. It defines capital requirements for startup business, helps students create capitalization tables, and provides guidance on how to plan several rounds of financing to fund a startup business.
VisionSpring (VIDEO)
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-840  Length: 1minutes
This video accompanies the case VisionSpring: A Lens for Growth at the Base of the Pyramid. In this video, Arunesh Singh, Regional Director for VisionSpring Asia, discusses his perspective on local impact. Shot in India, the video shows how the VE channel works and includes footage of a vision camp. This video provides a nice summary of the view VisionSpring has of its overall pove...
Targeting Malaria (VIDEO)
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-842  Length: 1minutes
This video accompanies the case "Targeting Malaria: Comparing Charity and Social Marketing-based Approaches". In this video, Jacqueline Novogratz addresses the Net Impact student club at the University of Michigan. Founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, Novogratz, discusses the A to Z investment, and she challenges the development community to spend more time asking the right questions in the fight against poverty, rather than focusing on which approach is right or wrong.
The Company Paragraph
by James D. Price, Christine Slocumb
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-845  Length: 5pages
An undervalued but crucial component of a business’s integrated communications strategy is what we’ll simply label, “the company paragraph”: that company overview you read when you click on “About Us” on a company’s website, or that you see under the subheading, “About XYZ Corporation” at the end of each company press release. These elemental, 3- to 4-sentence business overviews ar...
Developing Financial Projections
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-846  Length: 12pages
Prospective investors in startups and growth businesses expect to review detailed financial information on the company. This note provides an in-depth discussion of both the art and the science of preparing financial projections for an early-stage business. The article also describes the most appropriate way to present historical financial information, as well as advice on the best...
The Elevator Pitch
by James D. Price, Christine Slocumb
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-848  Length: 5pages
The brief, verbal, executive overview of the startup business – the so-called elevator pitch – has achieved something approaching mythical status in U.S. commerce as scores of annual pitch competitions pit entrepreneurs against one another before panels of VC judges. For entrepreneurs, the honed elevator pitch is a crucial communication tool, not just for these competitions, but in...
The Venture Presentation
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-832  Length: 12pages
As an entrepreneur or start-up CEO, once you get your foot in the door with a prospective investor or investor group, the purpose of the investor presentation is to provide talking points for your first formal, face-to-face meeting. The role of your slide deck, simply put, is to help you sell. This note clarifies the audience and purpose of the venture presentation, and provides an...
Writing a Winning Business Plan
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 07/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-847  Length: 7pages
While for most people, the business plan conjures images of entrepreneurs, fast-paced startups, and venture capital investors, business plans have become just as critical a tool in the corporate world, as established enterprises seek revenue and profit growth through the launch of new product lines, innovating around new business models, or entering brand new markets. This article...
Aramex (A)
by Robert E. Kennedy
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 06/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-776  Length: 22pages
The Aramex case study presents the complex situation facing Fadi Ghandour, a Jordan-based entrepreneur who started Aramex, an express and logistics company that was the first Arab-based firm to list on a U.S. stock exchange. Aramex has grown from a small regional player to taking on global giants such as FedEx and DHL, and its management team needs to make strategic decisions.
TerraCycle: Turning Trash into Cash
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-429-176  Length: 16pages
TerraCycle was founded in 2002 by Tom Szaky, a 20-year-old Princeton University dropout. The company’s flagship product, TerraCycle Plant Food, is liquefied worm poop made from worm-processed organic waste and packaged in reused soda bottles, many of which are collected in fund raising efforts by school children and non-profit groups.
Quicken Loans: An Enduring Entrepreneurial Spirit
by Lynn Wooten
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 04/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-760  Length: 6pages
This short case is one of eight in a series of cases written for the Next Great Companies in Michigan project, which profiles great places to work in Michigan. Rock Financial (now part of Quicken Loans) was founded by Dan Gilbert when he was only twenty-three years old. Although the firm has grown to over 4,000 employees and has become part of a world-class lending organization, it...
Managing Investor Due Diligence
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 03/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-791  Length: 9pages
This note provides two items that entrepreneurs and start-up teams will find useful as they pursue investment capital: an outline for a due diligence notebook and a sample investor’s due diligence checklist.
Business Model Innovation
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-784  Length: 7pages
Surprisingly, the dominant competitor that eventually surfaces in many industries does not garner its sustainable competitive advantage through the expected paths of either technological or product innovation, on the one hand, or dominant spending to buy market share, on the other. Rather, the winners in surprising number of large markets establish dominance by creatively innovatin...
Note on Building a Successful Mgt. Team
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-785  Length: 5pages
The vast majority of all viable new inventions or business ideas never make it to market. Innovations developed by corporations, in particular, appear to fail to reach their potential. This note examines the reasons established businesses fail to commercialize their innovations, and offers an alternative perspective that paints commercialization in a new light.
Commercializing Corporate Innovation
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-786  Length: 4pages
The vast majority of all viable new inventions or business ideas never make it to market. Innovations developed by corporations, in particular, appear to fail to reach their potential. This note examines the reasons corporations fail to commercialize their innovations, and offers an alternative perspective that paints commercializing in a new light.
Startup Skills
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-790  Length: 6pages
It’s fair to say that many large, established organizations tend not to think or act in a very entrepreneurial way. However, entrepreneurial thinking can be successfully adopted and applied by leaders in large organizations. This note offers guidance as to how executives can work better and more effectively by following the “Seven Principles of Entrepreneurship.”...
What's your VQ?
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-792  Length: 9pages
Building a brand new business from scratch is fraught with peril. Yet ironically, (and contrary to popular belief), the most successful entrepreneurs and venture investors are remarkably risk-averse people who are simply very good at managing and mitigating risk. This note provides a straightforward methodology for understanding and effectively managing the risks inherent in any ne...
The Venture Value Chain
by James D. Price
Product Type: Conceptual Note  Publication Date: 02/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-793  Length: 16pages
This note introduces the Value Venture Chain (VVC) model, which applies the paradigm of the value chain, well-accepted in other industries, to the process of conceptualizing, funding and building new businesses. The VVC provides startup executives, corporate new-business-development professionals, service providers, venture investors and aspiring entrepreneurs with a conceptual fra...
Hindustan Lever (VIDEO)
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 01/2009  Product ID#: 1-428-765  Length: 0minutes
This video accompanies the case "Hindustan Lever at the Base of the Pyramid: Growth for the 21st Century." It is an interview with Vijay Sharma, the head of HLL’s Shakti program, and is conducted by Professor Ted London of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. The interview is divided into two segments that cover the following topics: 1. Economic goals Part...
Hindustan Lever at the BoP
by Ted London
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 11/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-604  Length: 20pages
Hindustan Lever Limited, principally owned by Unilever, operates Shakti, a program which aims to extend the reach of HLL’s products to the 742 million rural consumers in 637,000 villages in India. Critical questions the program faces: Will Shakti and the BoP markets it targets deliver to HLL much-needed long term growth and become a key source of a future sustainable competitive a...
Deja Shoe (A)
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-670  Length: 14pages
Long-time environment and recycling supporter Julie Lewis thought that she had struck green gold when she partnered with Nike and Avia executives to create Deja Shoe, an environmental footwear company. Lewis and her executive team successfully raised startup funding and used it to build an environmentally-sound and appealing product. However, as their product is about to launch th...
Deja Shoe (B)
by Stuart Hart
Product Type: Mini-Case  Publication Date: 09/2008  Product ID#: 1-428-671  Length: 5pages
Deja Shoe (B) provides a follow-up to the scenario presented in Deja Shoe (A). Part B follows Lewis and her team through Deja Shoe's product launch across mainstream and green retailers nationwide. It discusses initial quality and sourcing issues, which present the team with lackluster sales and financing challenges.
CEMEX
by C.K. Prahalad
Product Type: Case  Publication Date: 12/2003  Product ID#: 1-429-149  Length: 18pages
The third largest cement manufacturer in the world, CEMEX decided it needed to move from selling materials to selling solutions. With low fixed prices, materials on credit, pre-costed housing designs, and even supervised construction services for Mexicans working abroad, CEMEX makes housing affordable and possible for the poor in Mexico.
Movirtu's Cloud Phone Service (video)
by Ted London
Product Type: Audio/Video  Publication Date: 01/1900  Product ID#: 1-429-227  Length: 3minutes
Click on the Inspection or Preview PDF icons at right to view the free video. This two-part interview with Movirtu's CEO Nigel Waller brings the key concepts of the Movirtu case to life. It demonstrates: Part 1: Starting the Company (Total time 3 minutes) 1a How Waller transformed his idea into a company 1b Financing Movirtu Part 2: The Decision (Total time 3 minutes, 47 seconds) 2...
 
About
Students
Partners
Staff
Events
Register
My Globalens
Submit
News
Help
Home
Login
734.615.7319 • info@globalens.com


Products
Case, Conceptual Notes, Profiles, Exercises
Courses, Modules
Case List
Videos
Syllabi

Categories
Authors
Disciplines
Partner Collections

My Account
Profile
Cart
Purchases
Favorites
CoursePaks
Settings
About Us
About
Staff

FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Globalens Product Definitions
Case Writing/Case Method
How-To
Feedback
Call 1.734.615.7319
email drahaims@umich.edu